The Pentagon on the 21st dismissed Stars and Stripes editor‑in‑chief Eric Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and senior Middle East reporter Lara Cortes, citing insubordination. The removals followed the paper’s reporting on poor conditions and mental‑health breakdowns among sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had prompted renewed domestic criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran conflict. Slavin said he was fired for insubordination and had previously described disagree

The Pentagon on the 21st dismissed Stars and Stripes editor‑in‑chief Eric Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and senior Middle East reporter Lara Cortes, citing insubordination. The removals followed the paper’s reporting on poor conditions and mental‑health breakdowns among sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had prompted renewed domestic criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran conflict. Slavin said he was fired for insubordination and had previously described disagreements with the Defense Department; Cortes wrote on X that she was informed she was being dismissed for insubordination.